March 2, 2013

• Report # 977

  Hey everyone, I hope that you’ve all been having a great weekend so far. After going for my run on Wednesday I came home and had a shower and headed to the Galerias mall to go to Cinépolis and watch Gangster Squad. It wasn’t a movie that I wanted to see too badly but seeing as there wasn’t really anything else on I went to see it and overall I thought it was a pretty good action movie. I had some dinner after at a place in the food court, and like usual after having all of that popcorn and food I was stuffed.

  On Thursday I went for a run in the morning and came home and booked my flight back to Vancouver. I’ll be arriving back in Vancouver at 10:35 am on Friday, March 8 so I think that is just a wonderful time to get back. Seeing as I didn’t want to have to fly back to Texas and wait around in an airport there for a few hours before getting home I wanted a direct flight to Vancouver, so I chose a flight out of Mexico City.

  Last night I booked a flight to Mexico City for March 6, so I will be able to spend some time with a friend there and quickly see the city again before heading home. I checked my visa process online yesterday evening, and there was still no news, so unless I get an answer in the next week, I’ll be heading home without a resolution. I’ve done all I can do though so I will just have to head home and be patient and hope for the best.

  I went to VIPS on Thursday afternoon and had some tortilla soup and pasta and enjoyed my 50 % discount. I thought that would be the last time I’d head to VIPS before I go back home, but I think I’ll be going again today as I have to head downtown and pick up a few things. After lunch on Thursday I walked to El Globo and picked up a frappuichino. I’ve always enjoyed their frappes as they are so thick with tons of mocha and chocolate. It will definitely be good to be able to have a Tim Hortons Ice Cap again in a week though !

  On Friday I ran once again though it wasn’t an easy run as I had some bad cramps. I can’t remember the last time I had cramps like that while I ran so it was a bit uncomfortable. I toughed it out and eventually the pain went away mostly and I was able to finish my run. It’s amazing how easy it is to lose my time. Most days I have been running about three minutes slower than I was running before going to Texas. Those 11 days in a row without running and being sick really took a toll on me, and I’m still trying to get back to the level I was at less than a month ago.

  I went to Cinépolis again on Friday, this time seeing Parker, an action movie with Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez. It’s always funny seeing Jennifer Lopez play these roles of some silly woman struggling financially, yet she’s obviously nothing like that in the real world. I suppose one may call it good acting, but I just call it complete fake ! I enjoyed the movie though as it had lots of action and some plot so it was cool. Afterwards I had something to eat from a Mexican place in the food court called Buchakas.

  I had seen the place in various malls over the last few months but I had never tried it before. I had this giant taco (Gringa) which I had from some other places before, but here it was so huge, and it was a mix of pork and beef and melted cheese. I also had some Horchata and rice, and along with the three chocolate chip cookies from Subway later on I was stuffed once again. It will be good to get home and stop going through these crazy eating days !

  The last few nights I’ve seen a bunch of horror type movies. I watched Gone, about a girl who was all paranoid about her sister being kidnapped and the cops didn’t believe her because she’s had some mental problems, and two Robin Williams movies, Insomnia and One Hour Photo. It was surprising to see those movies because Robin Williams always seems to be funny, but in those movies he played bad guys… they were both very good though and I enjoyed them.

  I’ve already been for a run this morning, which makes nine straight days in a row, and I’ll just finish typing this up and commenting everyone and then heading out. As some of you may know, the Catholic Church is in need of a new Pope as Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation a few weeks ago, finishing his term at the end of February. This was pretty surprising news as I read there hasn’t been a Pope that has resigned for almost 600 years. So clearly what has transpired here is a shock to many people around the world who know anything about this sort of thing.

  I can sort of understand his resignation in some ways. The job can’t be too easy, though I’m sure it has its luxurious perks. However the man was 85, almost 86 years old, and he clearly felt that he didn’t have the health or the energy to serve in the manner that was necessary of the Pope. I remember when Pope John II died back in 2005 being very surprised that the man they replaced him with was almost as old as he was… that just didn’t make sense.

  Of course with age there is experience and that would be super important in a job like this, but no one has to be around 80 years old to have lots of experience. This time around I think the Catholic Church needs to find someone at the very least under 70, someone who they could see leading the church for 20 years or so. And while it shouldn’t be expected that the Pope would have to serve until he dies, having someone who could provide longevity would really be an important thing I’d think.

  Now from what I’ve read there are almost 20 people who could be picked, though I’m sure much fewer of those people have a legitimate shot of being chosen. I think this is a great chance for the Catholic Church to show some renewal and pick someone who will not only be different, but more modern, and someone who has the energy and the dedication to take out the garbage. And anyone who doesn’t think there is any trash within the Catholic Church is very naive as there have been various child abuse cases, and I still don’t think this has been properly dealt with.

  All of the religions have their controversies, problems, and sins, but it’s up to the leadership of these religions to take charge and do something about it. I felt that while Pope Benedict was not a bad person, he didn’t have the energy, commitment, or desire to truly investigate the wrong doings within the church and take positive steps to put an end to what was going on and provide some justice and closure on the dark chapter of the church’s history.

  While it was unfair for people to compare this Pope to his predecessor, John Paul II, he certainly didn’t help his cause with his lack of acceptance towards people of different sexualities. And while as someone who is the head of a church, that’s not surprising, but at times I felt he went out of his way to condemn the people who live differently, and with all of the horrific child sexual abuse cases happening in the catholic church and never hearing him do much about that, he just came across as a big hypocrite and someone who was targeting the wrong subjects.

  So I would hope the new Pope that is chosen would be someone with more moderate views, someone who is relatively young by Pope Standards, at least in their 60′s, and from a region other than Europe…. maybe choose the first Latin American Pope, the first black Pope…. there are certainly some great options out there from what I have read.

  Ultimately though it’s not about making history, it’s about choosing the best person for the job, and hopefully with the vote, the right man is chosen and he can get to work immediately and bring some positive changes to the church.

  For the next question:

  What traits should the leader of a religion have ? Is is possible to follow the rules of the religion while modernizing certain beliefs ?

  I will leave you all with some pictures that I took from San Antonio. This will conclude my pictures from Texas, and unless I take some pictures during my short stop in Mexico City, I won’t have any posted for a while. I wish everyone all of the best with everything. Take care and I’ll talk to you all on Tuesday, bye for now.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • 2:14 pm
  • 7 Comments